Preset, Transparency, Variation

[seal58]

A question of a new VM user let me see, that sometimes in VM some words are missunderstood.

Preset
In CA Voltage Modular a Preset means a set of cable connected modules.
While in industry this word means an default adjustment of distances, pressures, voltages, forces and so on before a final adjustments is done. For electronic musical instruments preset often means adjustment of controls (knobs, or values) for a voice / sound / song.
I find that in VM the word Setup would better be used instead of Preset.

Variation
In VM this word has same meaning as preset in common technic: For the present circuit / device / instrument / equipment / setup some different adjustments are done.

Transparency
VM allows users to preset cable visability with the Transperency slider. Here 0% means that cables are invisible clea and 100 % means that cables look as solid. - Yes, regular definition of transparency is just opposite.
It's a bit funny, that in Voltage Designer there is a method SetTransparency(), which uses the transparency value correctly:
0 = solid, colour and surface of an object are visible
1 = full transparency, object gets invisible as clear glass of a window

[ColinP]

Yeah it's a bit of a mess.

I translate VM presets as patches, variations as presets and transparency as opacity.

[Steve W]

Preset
In CA Voltage Modular a Preset means a set of cable connected modules.
While in industry this word means an default adjustment of distances, pressures, voltages, forces and so on before a final adjustments is done. For electronic musical instruments preset often means adjustment of controls (knobs, or values) for a voice / sound / song.
I find that in VM the word Setup would better be used instead of Preset.

From what I have seen, preset is universally used to mean pre-configured setup or pre-configured settings.

Back in the day, they used to be called patches, shorthand for the set of cables (and their connections and what later became parameter values) that go into making a sound.

I often use preset / patch / program because at various times in various contents they all referred to the same basic things.

Calling VM's presets setups will not solve confusion or make learning easier for people who are new to modular synths, connecting component parts with cables. On the other hand such a change will look foolish and will confuse people who already understand the various uses of terminology used in electronic music.

Setup is already a vague / multi-purpose term what has many different meanings and uses in both very different and somewhat similar contexts.

Consider just one: my setup consists of various pieces of hardware and software integrated with in my studio so I can do music. VM is just one tool, I use. I put together modules and connect them with virtual cables. Consistent with my historical use of synths and sound modules, I call the saved groupings of VM modules, connections, routings, settings/parameters, etc. patches.

The software world of musicmaking calls such saved groupings presets. Before software, hardware also called them presets. The MIDI spec has something called Program Changes. In fact, some hardware and some software use the term programs to refer to factory patches or pre-configured components, routings, and settings.

Also consider other terms in VM, such as CV. People in some communities use CV to mean Curriculum Vitae. Someone coming to modular synths (hardware or software) would be confused by the use of CV. But many of us know CV = Control Voltage. Of course, VM doesn't use voltages, so that can be a source of confusion to newcomers.

If the goal is smooth out the learning curve and to make VM a triffle easier to grasp, I submit that the configuration of modules, virtual cables, routings, control positions, and initial values for different controls should be called patches. Even though VM simulates virtual cabling, patches and the activity of patching different things (modules) together will better help people to intuitively grasp modular construction.

Consider the use of the term "multi." Somewhere along the line different makers of musicmaking tools started calling things "Multisetups." What constituted a multisetup and how to use them varied from manufacturer to manufacture.

In a real sense, you could call presets/patches in VM Multisetups. But look what happened over the years. Some companies and users started calling multisetups just multis. Language changes naturally. Specialized language and usage has to be learned. That cannot be avoided by using multi-purpose, generic words like "setups."

Changing "presets" to "setups" will not help smooth out the learning curve and will add confusion.

[huggermugger]

In electronic musical instruments, the terms 'preset' and 'patch' (and occasionally 'program') have been used interchangeably and consistently since the first synths came out (late 1970s) that could store patches in memory. Specifically regarding modular synths, the term 'patch' is commonly used, derived from the use of 'patch' cords. "I patched the output of the LFO into the VCO".

"Variation" works for me nicely, as it's a subset of a particular patch in VM (and a welcome feature, I might add! VCV Rack has no such feature and it's a pain in the ass to have to save any new variation on a patch as a new patch).

I agree, Cherry uses the word Transparency incorrectly. First of all, the conventional term is Opacity. Secondly, the maximum "transparency" level in their UI is 100%, which is in fact not 100% transparent, it's 100% opaque.

[seal58]

Yes, I agree with both of you. In modular synth context patch is much better understandable than preset or setup.

[utdgrant]

I'm afraid the term 'Preset' is just too baked-in to the entire Cherry Audio ecosystem to change now.

PresetSelection.jpg (26.72 KiB) Viewed 2010 times

PresetsList.jpg (56.93 KiB) Viewed 2010 times

PresetsStore.jpg (40.01 KiB) Viewed 2010 times

And yes, the pedant in me balks at 'transparency' actually controlling 'opacity'. But really, once you grab the control and wiggle it about, it's obvious what it's doing.

[seal58]

I did not mean that CA should change any of these words and I'm sure the won't. I only wanted to clarify the use of such words in VM for beginners.

[huggermugger]

Sometimes the term 'preset' was used for hardwired patches, baked into the ROM of a synth. So a synth might ship with 32 presets and 32 user programs. Presets were for kids...

[utdgrant]

I only wanted to clarify the use of such words in VM for beginners.

And it's still a great idea, regardless of any rabbit holes of pedantry that we might go down.

This example is probably unique to UK English, but we often refer to both 'Jack Sockets' and 'Jack Plugs'. The Voltage Audio Jacks on VM modules would be 'jack sockets', and the plugs on each end of a patch cable would be 'jack plugs'. Two countries separated by a common language!

Less commonly, some people in the UK will refer to a mains electricity outlet as a 'Plug Socket'!